Today, we’re looking back on the recent Spring/Summer 2022 menswear collections debuted by Givenchy, Acne Studios, and Thebe Magugu.
Courtesy of Givenchy.
Givenchy’s Creative Director Matthew M. Williams celebrated his journey from the U.S. to France—the country he now calls home—through a video by Jasmine Loignon for the house’s Spring 2022 pre-collection. The film began with a shot of Lady Liberty before taking viewers on a journey that ended with New York and Paris joining as one, highlighting a cross of urban cool and Parisian elegance. There were styles that intermingled streetwear and tailoring, including a pair of slim-fit pants with a kilt-like overlay, styled with a parka, boots, and accessories like pocket chains and a neck bandana; or a monochrome suit that combined a crisp sartorial set with sneakers and a structured windbreaker peeking out from underneath. The season invited the Mexico-based Chito for a collaboration, including garments with the artist’s airbrush graphics—in particular, motifs like a cartoon dog, which took the form of prints, and even literal iterations, like a cap with ears. The collection also featured a partnership with luggage label RIMOWA, which provided a series of suitcases and accessories.
Courtesy of Acne Studios.
Ample cuts, playful colors, and unorthodox styling were the elements that made Acne Studios’ Spring/Summer 2022 menswear collection stick in our minds. The season was a personal one for Creative Director Jonny Johansson, who pulled from his own memories and subconscious to create the new designs. Subverting the typical menswear oeuvre, juxtapositions between hard and soft, masculine and feminine suggested power in questioning what is stereotypical—exemplified through looks like a silk bomber worn with a knit dress and flowing pants, or a pair of cropped trousers worn with knee-high purple socks and a jersey top with oversized sleeves that fell mid-thigh. Clothing was treated as a social statement: in particular, styles like flare-cut pants, which Johannson said, is a declaration of opposition. Other styles we loved included a militant cargo jacket paired with mini shorts, a striped sweater, and a beret; and a suit in an oversized snakeskin print, which was tucked into tall, lace-up riding boots, and styled with details like a single drop earring with a pearl, a cuff necklace, and a leather clutch with a rainbow chain.
Courtesy of Thebe Magugu.
Thebe Magugu’s collection “Doublethink” (a term coined in the novel 1984 by George Orwell) looked at South Africa’s corruption and the whistleblowers trying to overcome it. Stories of education and equality gaps and mismanagement of funding and goods, that often end in violence, were the somber tales brought to life through the season’s garments. Magugu explored the common ground between classic men’s tailoring and the Great Basin buckaroo of the Wild West, yielding designs recalling something that might have been worn by a gunslinging bandit or a deputy on horseback—including pieces like ranger hats, equestrian boots (its first-ever menswear shoe style), and overcoats with large lapels. There were looks like a matching suit in dark plaid, styled with a turtleneck and bolo tie; and a khaki trench with large blood-red handprints on the front, paired with a matching hat featuring the signature Sisterhood emblem. Thebe Magugu also partnered with political cartoonist Jonathan Zapiro for the season, which saw his artworks SA Body Politic and Zuma must Fall calling out corrupt politicians by way of illustrated prints—like a set styled with boots, a belt, and a hat with an enormous brim that doubled as a neck shade.
